Borough is second most visited UK destination

Carl Gavaghan

Scarborough is one of the most visited places in the UK, new figures have revealed.

Data released by Visit England this week based on a three year average for trips made by British visitors between 2013 and 2015, show the Borough of Scarborough finishing second overall for holiday trips and holiday spend, only missing out on the top spot to London.

For total trips and total spend, which includes business, holiday and other types of trips, the borough still secured fourth place, with only the commercial heartlands of London, Birmingham and Manchester finishing above it.

The total value of visitor trips to these areas during the three year period was worth £361 million.

Despite being weighted towards the leisure visitor market, the figure includes £35 million spend on business related trips, which puts Scarborough joint tenth, with Sheffield, for total business trip spend.

Janet Deacon, Scarborough Council tourism Manager and area director for Welcome to Yorkshire said: “We’re absolutely delighted with these recent figures, which show that we’re really punching above our weight when it comes to attracting visitors to our wonderful borough.

“We never rest on our laurels and are continually exploring new ways to attract more visitors, including a diverse and exciting calendar of events, investment in new technology for providing the very best in visitor information and supporting our tourism partners to go from strength to strength.”

Cllr Derek Bastiman, Leader of Scarborough Council added: “Supporting investment in new holiday accommodation, major events and projects such as the redevelopment of Scarborough Open Air Theatre is now paying dividends, as more visitors means greater spend.

"This summer, we look forward to the opening of the eagerly awaited Alpamare Scarborough water park and plans for the borough’s first multi-million pound multiplex cinema are now well underway.

“While we have been the driving force behind reinventing our borough to meet the high expectations of today’s visitors, it is our partnership approach, working with those in the private sector that share our passion, which has really helped us to aim high and deliver results.

"Our doors are always open to anyone who wishes to be part of our winning coastal destination.”